Title: Plans for the Future
(Fic Series): A Life Worth Living
Fandom: Free!
Pairings: Sousuke/Rin
Rating: T
Warnings: Rin having other crushes when he was small?
Summary: Post-Free! Eternal Summer Future Fic
Rin starts making plans for the future and Sousuke finds the ideas and hopes worming their way into his heart.
A collection of different conversations about the future between Rin and Sousuke, all set at random periods of time between their get together and graduation.
A/N:
None of these have to be read in order, they're all just ficlets really. As always you can find this story on my ao3 and tumblr account!
Let me know if there are any glaring grammar or spelling errors, I was in a bit of a rush to get it done before New Year's Eve. I hope everyone enjoys!
Plans for the Future
Chapter 1:Holiday Plans
"That was the best," Rin smiled. The tired boy flopped down onto his bed, staring up at his ceiling. He rolled over to the side of the bed, taking his childhood shark covers with him. Another body flopped down onto the bed, curling around the other.
"If you say so," Sousuke yawned. Rin glanced over his shoulder at the yawning boy.
"Come on, you know it was! Christmas parties are always the best," he grinned.
The other just laughed and placed a tired kiss against long locks, warm and gentle fingers combing through the knotted strands. Rin made a soft embarrassed noise in the back of his throat. He had always known his friend liked his hair, but he was still getting used to a boyfriend who doted upon it. It was a bit embarrassing how much Sousuke liked to play with and brush his hair.
"It's nice if you're having fun with your friends, but Hazuki is another story," Sousuke grumbled. The small swimmer had harassed him nonstop and he couldn't keep up with all that endless energy. Ceaseless inappropriate questions, touches, and surprises had followed. He knew that the boy did it just to get a rise out of people, but knowing didn't change anything.
"Ah, yeah, sorry. Nagisa can be a bit much."
"You don't say?" Sousuke smirked.
Rin huffed as he tried to turn over in his self-made cocoon with little success. Sousuke helped free him from his blanketed confinement before laying the sheets flat over top of them. Rin hooked himself against Sousuke's side as he settled back down, pulling the covers up to their chests.
"Hey, your parents aren't expecting you back for New Year's are they?"
Eyebrows rose at the question before a short chuckle escaped his mouth. Rin frowned at the reaction, but waited patiently for the answer.
"I've already told them I wasn't coming back over break," he replied. "Why? You dragging me to more parties?"
Rin scoffed, jutting out his lower lip before hiding his face with his blankets. Sousuke protested as the covers were pulled up off his feet, trying desperately to kick them back down.
"No. Christmas is for friends and family, so that means New Year's is going to be for just us."
Sousuke finally managed to pull the blankets back down in place, a glaring Rin staring back up at him. He smiled and kissed his cheek.
"What a sweet boyfriend I have," he cooed, successfully causing a bright flush on his sweet friend's face.
"Shut up," he muttered.
"You know, isn't it usually the other way around?" he mused. "I mean, lovers usually spend Christmas together."
"That's just because not many people here are Christian. Mom would be upset if we made it a couples' holiday. Anyways, when we move to Australia it's going to be summer during Christmas, so we'd have to come back anyways. Christmas without snow is awful," Rin grumbled, remembering a few lost Christmases during his stay in Australia.
"I don't doubt it," Sousuke laughed, knowing how much Rin detested cold but loved snow. His best friend always found the powdery white covering the earth to be magical.
"So New Year's will be ours, and we can spend it together. Next year we might spend New Year's here again, but the fireworks in Sydney are amazing. Lori and Russell took me during the years I had to stay in Australia. They're so big, you won't believe it!"
Rin's arms had unconsciously started moving around as he told the other about the fireworks. Sousuke smiled at his boyfriend. His arm came around to pull him closer, humming in response as the other continued to ramble in excitement.
"If we can't see them next year, the year after for sure we'll make it back in time. We'll do it even if it cuts back into visiting with everyone. Maybe we'll do it so that every other year we spend it in Japan," he grinned.
Sousuke felt his breathing stop for a second before it returned, his eyes sliding shut. It always caught him off guard, Rin's reckless talk about a future he planned to share with him.
"That sounds nice," he breathed out. Rin continued on unaware of the boy's change in mood. Gentle kisses littered wherever Sousuke could reach without moving.
"Yeah, oh! That'd be good because then we could visit Lori and Russell for Christmas, too. I can't wait for you to meet them. They're going to love you! Well, Lori already sort of does, but still."
"You told them about me?" Sousuke asked, moving his head back to get a better look at his boyfriend. Rin kept his gaze pointed away from the other, red dusting his cheeks.
"Well of course, you're my best friend," he mumbled. Sousuke chuckled breathlessly. Rin had told his homestead parents about him. For some reason it felt as though a weight had been lifted off his chest, a weight he never knew he had been carrying.
"Do they know?" Rin's eyes finally met Sousuke's, a question in them before his mouth dropped into a small o.
"Yeah, of course. They were actually, uh, the first to know about," Rin made a gesture with his hands, entire body throwing off the heat of embarrassment. "Uh, liking guys, or whatever. It was awful figuring it out, let alone abroad. But Lori and Russell helped me through it. They were really nice about it, they kind of saved me. They're actually the reason I told mom."
Sousuke sat up, surprised about the seriousness of the conversation. He had never heard any of this before; in fact he wasn't even sure what Rin liked. He knew that at the very least Rin wasn't straight, but he had never bothered to think much further than that, as long as Rin was with him he was okay with anything.
"Can you imagine how awful it was? Ha ha. I mean the language barrier was tough enough," Rin grimaced.
"When did you realize?" he asked, watching for signs, something to tell him that questions would not be appreciated. Rin shrugged, a natural frown in place, not meaning anything in particular.
"Well I kind of suspected it when I was here, I didn't really question how I felt about you, but when I realized it I figured out that you were probably the first. Haru," Sousuke flinched at the name.
"He sort of reinforced my suspicions. I was kind of obvious about it too, right? Man that's embarrassing. Actually, and don't you dare tell anyone," Rin warned, knowing fully well that Sousuke would never say anything in the first place. Sousuke put up his hands in surrender.
"You know I'd never," he said. Rin just shook his head a little before turning his eyes up at his childhood posters.
"Makoto sort of grew on me like that too, when we were little anyways. Sort of had this puppy –dog look, I don't know. But that was all before middle school. When I went to middle school there I finally figured it out. I noticed that I found the boys better looking than the girls and then I saw this high school kid I liked from the swim club there making out with this girl and I uh," Rin's cheeks went ablaze eyes darting down.
"I kind of uh, imagined that I was her, and," Rin flustered; embarrassed by the memories he was sharing. "After that it was like a floodgate and I came home crying and Lori asked what was wrong and the rest is, well, history."
Sousuke sat in silence, taking in his childhood friend's story. He didn't feel angry like he thought he would, it was already clear that Rin was over all of his childhood crushes, even Nanase Haruka. It just felt a bit embarrassing, and endearing. He offered his best friend a small smile, he didn't need to share that with Sousuke, but he did anyways.
"Thanks," Sousuke said. Rin's mouth turned down into a wobbly frown.
"Why are you thanking me? That's so weird. I just, shit," he grumbled, throwing his arms up over his face. "I don't know why I'm telling you. It's just that, like I always felt like I should have? I really wanted to back then, I just didn't know what to say. I know you think I forgot all about you while I was there, but there were times when you were the only thing that kept me sane."
"Rin," he breathed. His eyes were wide in astonishment. Rin made more humiliated noises.
"Shit this is embarrassing, I shouldn't have said anything," he whined.
"I don't know if I actually like guys," Sousuke began, wanting to comfort his friend without making him more embarrassed. "I've never been attracted to guys before. I've never seen girls that way either though. It's only been you, and I realized it pretty young. About the time you had that crush on Nanase."
Rin peaked up at Sousuke, still keeping the majority of his face out of view. Sousuke gave a lopsided smile.
"It really bothered me, but I knew why you did everything. I think knowing made it worse. It wasn't like I could stop you, knowing how you felt. About swimming and about him. I let it go and tried to brush it off, but I knew it was real."
"Sorry," Rin mumbled, arms falling away, uncovering his guilty frown. Sousuke gave him a hard look and Rin bit his lip, holding back any other words. Sousuke didn't want Rin to feel bad about it.
"You know, there was a girl in middle school I kind of liked. I didn't like her at first, but the more I got to know her the more I liked her. She reminded me a lot of you, actually. Steadfast, only focused on swimming. But she wasn't a romantic, that's for sure," Sousuke laughed at a memory of long ago. Rin wondered what was running through his head.
"Did you date her?" Rin whispered. Sousuke shook his head.
"No, never asked to either. We both had goals that were more important, besides romance was never big on my list. You know despite liking her it was never a doubt in my mind I liked you more. She was sort of like an island," he said pulling his hands together. Sousuke hummed, thinking back on his time at middle school.
"Seeing her working so hard made me remember how hard you were working, and it made me want to push further. It helped, a lot, when the letters stopped coming."
Rin made to apologize again but a large hand was already covering his mouth. Sousuke bent over and kissed his forehead.
"You don't need to apologize for anything, so stop. It bothers me when you do."
Rin grunted before licking Sousuke's palm. Sousuke flinched away from the unwanted touch and Rin sat up, bumping shoulders with the other.
"Doesn't change the fact that I am," he reminded him.
Sousuke frowned deeply and they shared a kiss, opting out of further discussion on the matter. Rin pulled them back down into the bed, propping himself up on the larger boy. He peppered apologetic kisses all over the other's face. Sousuke relented, enjoying their soft warmth.
"How did we even end up on such a heavy topic, we were talking about New Year's!" Rin complained, continuing his worship of the other's cheeks and chin. Sousuke felt himself falling asleep under the relentless touches.
"Mm, don't now, but I'm glad we did," Sousuke opened his eyes and leaned into a kiss. "I want to know about the Rin I wasn't there to see."
Rin sputtered about how embarrassing the other boy was before rolling over onto his side and getting comfortable. He reached above him and turned off the lamplight. In the dark he promised the other he'd tell more, on the condition that Sousuke would share too. Promises of an amazing New Year's celebration for just the two of them and new holiday traditions filled the late night air. Sousuke couldn't help but to feel amazed by Rin, warmed by Rin. He always felt so safe and comfortable in Rin's presence. For once Sousuke felt like he didn't want another year to end. He would be happy enough if they could just continue like that forever.